Home Grown Salmonella Outbreaks Are On The Rise

Domestically acquired cases of Salmonella enterica infections are on the rise, according to recent study published in the June issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Since the late 1990s, the incidence of Salmonella enterica infections in the U.S. has increased by 44 percent and most of them were acquired from domestic sources, according to the study.

Salmonella

The research team including: Shua J. Chai, Patricia L. White, Sarah L. Lathrop., Suzanne M. Solghan, Carlota Medua, Beth M. McGlinchey, Melissa Tobin-D’Angelo, Ruthanne Marcus and Barbara E. Mahon, says Salmonella infections from domestic sources are a growing problem.

The team analyzed data of Salmonella enterica reported to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) from 1996 to 2009 and compared it with data collected from other surveillance systems.

The largest increases by demographic were in young children, older adults, and residents of southern states, researchers found. They identifed chicken and eggs as likely major sources of infection.

Although many cases go unreported, Salmonella enterica causes an estimated 1 million cases of domestically acquired foodborne illness in the U.S. each year, according to the study. The serotype, Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is one of the most common Salmonella serotypes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There have been a number of foodborne Salmonella outbreaks this year. Two of them were from domestic sources:

A Salmonella Paratyphi B outbreak in North Carolina linked to locally produced tempeh that sickened 83 people.

A multistate Salmonella Infantis outbreak linked to dry dog food that sickened 15 people.